Police Officer Taken To Hospital Over Concerns Of Exposure To Nerve Agent

UPDATE: A police officer who attended Salisbury District Hospital over concerns he had been exposed to a nerve agent has tested negative for Novichok, a hospital spokesman said.

A police officer has been taken to hospital for specialist tests over concerns of possible exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.

The officer, believed to be with Wiltshire Police, is being treated at Salisbury District Hospital after first attending Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

A Salisbury District Hospital spokesperson said that many members of the public had sought medial advice after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

The hospital said in a statement: “A police officer attended Great Western Hospital this evening for medical advice in connection with the ongoing incident in Amesbury. There is nothing to suggest there is any wider risk to anyone at the hospital.

“The individual is now being taken to Salisbury District Hospital which has the ability to carry out the appropriate specialist tests. Salisbury District Hospital has seen a number of members of the public who have come to the hospital with health concerns since this incident started and none have required any treatment.

“We would like to reiterate the advice from Public Health England that the risk to the wider public remains low.”

Charlie Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, remain in hospital after they became ill in Amesbury - eight miles from Salisbury where the Skripals were poisoned.

Forensic investigators are continuing to comb for clues in Wiltshire after the latest Novichok poisonings.

Investigators wearing camouflage protective clothing entered the John Baker House assisted-living accommodation in Salisbury, where mother-of-three Sturgess lives, after they took a sample from the outside of the building on Friday.

Other sites visited by the couple in the lead-up to their hospitalisation are also being looked at, as detectives piece together a timeline of their movements.

Officers have spoken to several key witnesses and are trawling through more than 1,300 hours of CCTV footage which has been collected so far.

Police have been unable to locate the source of the contamination and have not ruled out the possibility of more people falling ill from coming into contact with the substance left over after the Skripals were targeted.

One theory understood to be under investigation is whether the pair inadvertently found the container used to transport the nerve agent in the Skripal attack.